Axios

Severe storms slammed Southwestern Pennsylvania on Tuesday, killing at least three people and leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

Zoom in: The storms tore off roofs, ripped down power lines and damaged buildings and homes across the region.

The quest to exploit deep-sea mineral resources — and debates over benefits and harms — is intensifying in D.C. and internationally.

Why it matters: U.S. regulators are now weighing an actual proposal after The Metals Company on Tuesday said it submitted applications for exploration and extraction in a swath of international Pacific waters.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the Pentagon will no longer "do climate change crap" — but the changing climate has a lot in store for the U.S. military.

The big picture: Every competition and conflict is influenced by weather. (Consider the forecasts ahead of D-Day in 1944, or Napoleon's ill-fated jaunt into Russia in 1812.)

A carbon removal industry group is launching a domestic security-focused push for policies that stitch CO2-sucking tech into U.S. mining operations.

Why it matters: Adding carbon removal to mining can create revenue to help make U.S. development more competitive and counter China, the Carbon Removal Alliance argues in a new memo.

Whoever succeeds Pope Francis to become the Catholic Church's 267th pope, his first major decision will be to choose his papal name.

Why it matters: That name, rooted in centuries of church history, dogma and devotion, will signal the new pope's agenda within the church and beyond.